It's (Semi) Official

Hailey Kay

The decision.  After months and months of debate, we have finally settled on a name!  We made the decision on September 6, 2010, on our way to the dog park!  Ha.  Sounds like a trivial decision, but believe me, it wasn't.  I was tired of calling the baby "Baby" or Hannah-slash-Hailey, and when my mom said, "We'll just call her Slash," that was the end of that!  I needed a name.  Even though it took nearly 7 months to decide, and it was always between Hailey and Hannah, it came down to Hailey! 

Robby really preferred Hailey over Hannah, and to get me to finalize my vote, he kept mentioning Hannah Montana, the teen pop star. I guess that finally got to me when I was talking to a few people and said something about I want to paint the baby's room blue, not pink, but I didn't really think that went well with "Hannah" and someone said, "Hannah Montana loves blue!" For Robby to make the connection is one thing, but for someone else to...well, that was enough for me!  I don't want that attachment to her name for her whole life...or even the childhood/teenage years.

Her middle name is a family name - my mom's middle name in fact. Once again, I preferred another, but Robby picked this one, and I just couldn't argue, could I? Ha. I told him he was just trying to get a good Christmas present! (Joking, of course!)

The meaning.  One of the reasons it took me so long to decide on what to call her is the meaning of the names.  We have been prety sure since about July that her initials would be HKR, no matter what we decided, but we didn't know which way we'd go.  Hannah = gracious/from the grace of God, has Hebrew etymology (like Abigail) and is Biblical (also like Abigail);  Hailey = from the hay meadow and is of English origin.  It wasn't until Robby found an alternative meaning "Natural" that I could accept it as an option.  I just put too much emphasis on words!  When I think of "natural" and all that could imply, I like it.  I'll just pray that she has a generous and loving soul, and that should take care of that!  Kate = Pure;  Kay = joyous, both of which I like. 

In the end, her name, Hailey Kay means Natural & Joyous!  I think she'll be a beautiful person, inside and out!

I am so happy to be able to call her by her name now, and we can get Abigail used to hearing it as well.  I know I'm now in the home stretch (yaaaay!), and it's finally getting real.  Just about 10 weeks until Hailey gets here!

Here's Hailey's "house" at 28 weeks 5 days!

24 Week Appointment

Today I had my 24 week appointment.  Everything looks great!  This time, I had no worries about the baby because it seems like she moves constantly.  She particularly loves bouncing on my bladder like a trampoline, and there have been a few times where I was worried I might not make it to the bathroom in time! 

It's neat to feel her move; several times it has felt like she's completely flipped sides or rolled all the way over from head down to head up or vice versa.  She's quite the acrobat.  Although she's pretty constant throughout the day, I can already detect a sort of schedule, and so far, it isn't too bad.  Abby was hardly up during the day (always up at 10am like clockwork, though.  I would know the time without looking at the clock), but she was up all night. 

This baby is up when I wake up, which is usually about 7am, then I really feel her get going at 11am, 3pm, 5pm, and from 8:30-10pm she is REALLY active.  I'd say that's her most active time of the day.  Of course, I've noticed her up at 3:30 am almost every morning (that seems to be my bladder's limit and I wake up to go to the rest room at that time almost every night).  I'm just happy that there's a lot of day time movement, since I learned that their schedule in the womb is often the schedule they'll have as newborns. 

At my next appointment, I'll do the glucose/diabetes test and get a SONOGRAM!  We're so excited to be able to see our baby again!  :) 

Showers in the Forecast

Babies, babies, everywhere!  This past Saturday and Sunday I attended two baby showers, one for Robby's aunt Shelli and a couples shower for my friend Sara. 

Shelli is having a little girl, her first, named Kennedi.  I wish that I would have gotten a picture of her because she is so cute pregnant - and tiny!  One of her friends at the shower said, "Um, when did this happen?"  When Shelli looked baffled, her friend said, "I just saw you last week, no bump, and now there's a bump!"  You expect this comment around 4-5 months, but Shelli is 8 weeks away from delivery!  That's just to give you an idea of how tiny her bump really is!  I've known all along that our baby has grown/shown much, much faster than I did with Abigail, but gosh, before we get pregnant with our third, I'm going to try really, really hard to lose both this baby's and Abigail's weight! 

I just hope I don't feel guilty - that's why I didn't really work out after Abigail.  I joined a gym, and the first time I took her to the gym daycare at 3 months, she got a double ear infection, so I felt guilty that she got sick because I wanted my own time.  Then, I waited until she was 6 months old to take her back (better immune system, I thought), but NOPE a week long cold/virus from that trip.  Sigh, I just felt awful because it was something that I chose to do, not something that I had to do (like work).  Plus, I hated, hated, hated having her at the sitter's all day while I worked, then picking her up and leaving her in someone else's care AGAIN.  It just made me feel like a bad mother!

I hope I get over that with the second child.  Hmmm.  We'll see.  The good news is that at the school where I will now be "housed" for my new position, there is an incredibly awesome Student Activity Center  with workout areas for teachers, so I plan to use that.  That way, when I get done with my day, I can go workout before picking up the kids.  I don't think I will feel as badly about that since it's not just jostling them from one care center to the next.  It's tough being a full time working mom.  At least I won't have papers to grade any more when I get home!  Hallelujah for that!

Okay, back to the forecasted showers, we also went to Sara's shower.  Sara has a daughter named Abigail, called Abby, and she had a friend named Abigail there, as well, so there were three Abigails total!  It was funny.  We already call Sara's Abby "Big A" and our Abby "Little A" when they're together, so it wasn't really too confusing to know who we were talking about/addressing. 

Well, Big A is expecting a little sister, going to be named Madison.  Sara and I are thrilled to have little girls only about one month apart!  (Secretly, neither Robby nor I think that she will make it to her due date - she's poppin out there for sure!  At Sara's last sonogram, her doctor said the baby should weigh about 2.5 pounds, but instead weighs about 4 pounds!) 

It was a fun couples shower - Robby had to drink beer from a bottle and they had really, really good food!  Sara and I were both wearing purple shirts, which seemed to be confusing for the men, because at one point, I walked up behind Shane who was sitting on the couch, and he reached up to grab me, but said, "Oh!  I just saw the belly and the purple and thought you were Sara!"  It was a good laugh for all. 

Two showers down and two more to go in the coming weeks!  It's baby season!

Playdate with Claire

Claire is the daughter of a fellow English teacher - she is about 3 months older than Abigail.  Jamie, Claire's mom, and I like to get the girls together whenever we can for playdates.  So far, the only ones the girls have had have been at Jamie's house because she just gave birth 3 months ago to baby Ella, and Ella was too tiny to really take out anywhere.

Well, today that all changed.  We decided it was time for Ella to get out in the world, and Jamie's been wanting to take Claire to Abbey's Playtown because she's heard all the raves from other teachers (just as I have).  So, out we went. 

It was difficult, to say the least!  The only other time I've been there was in June, when I was about 4 months pregnant - and I had Robby with me.  Now, at almost 6 months pregnant and without Robby, it was a whole new experience!  Combine that with Jamie trying to keep up with Claire while keeping Ella happy and close and you get two crazy mommas!  It was fun, though.  We all had a blast, even though Jamie and I were more worn out than Abby and Claire!

(PS - I love that she has two girls who are very close in age to Abby and baby-to-be girl #2! It'll make future playdates great when all four children will have a playmate!)

Playing with the train set.  Abby and Claire both really liked the train table.

Lovin' the bounce house!

Chasing each other down the hallway!

Flying a plane

She loved riding the horsey!

A break from playing for a quick hug!

I really loved watching this; when Abigail realized she couldn't get in the soft block area on her own, she walked all the way around until she found some blocks to stand on and give her enough height to climb over!  Such a smart girl!

Claire sliding! 

Abby getting ready to go!

Afterwards, she found a baby doll and wanted the doll to do whatever she did.

It was the doll's turn to slide!

When the baby got to the bottom of the slide, Abigail (still at the top) said, "Baby did it!"

Next, Abby wanted the doll to play at the music table.  Notice the pink doll in Abby's lap.

She got so frustrated trying to get the doll to sit up next to her!

Another attempt at getting the baby to sit!

Abby decided to move on from the doll and play with a real baby - Baby Ella!

Ella - Bella!

Claire went for a spin as Police Patrol.

All smiles when we were done!

Danae's Birthday

I love, love, love my English teacher colleauges.  Or should I say, my old English teacher colleagues.  It is the biggest downside to taking my new position in the district - leaving these ladies!  We have grown quite close this past year; I guess going through difficult times (adjusting to the demands of Dubiski!) really does bring you together.  That, and we're all just good people who like to laugh and who care for others.  Who would have known that this group of near-perfect strangers could have "gelled" so well together?  We're not only work friends, but we're real friends.  We've gotten together several times this summer just to catch up!  (On a side note, it seems like all departments at our school are this way - close with one another.  Our principal did a very good job hiring personalities who work well with a team!  Although rigorous and demanding, it was the best place I've ever worked due to the people who worked there!)

This year, we have taken turns showering each other with gifts and parties and such for our birthdays, but one of us, Danae, has a dreaded summer birthday.  I say "dreaded" because you know how it is when you're in school - all the June/July/August birthdays get skipped or clumped together and no one ever gets the same treatment.  It's no different if you're a teacher.  We felt that we couldn't leave her out, so we planned a long, long time ago (in May) to meet on this day to celebrate her birthday.

Danae and I have a special link because we both came back from Spring Break with a baby in our bellies!  Danae's baby is due about 5 days before mine; we're already making plans for our little ones to have play dates!  I brought my camera to our luncheon with every intention of taking a group picture with all of us, and then of taking a picture of our bellies together at about 6 months pregnant, but OF COURSE that didn't happen.  Sigh, well, there's always next time.

We ate at The Cheesecake Factory - a place that is known for its relaxed dining (read:  slow service), but we had no idea it would take over 2 hours for just 5 of us to eat!  We enjoyed talking with each other, but it was getting a little ridiculous to wait so long (maybe that's just my pregnancy hormones complaining).  Good thing we all got some cheesecake for dessert - it was a nice distraction from how long the service was taking.

Jumpin' Jack's Party Shack

Yesterday we took Abigail to our cousin Colby's birthday party at Jumpin' Jack's Party Shack.  Basically, it's a huge place with nothing but giant bounce houses and bounce house obstacle courses - a perfect place for a seven year old and all his friends to get out their energy.  With my current condition and all (i.e. carrying a human inside my belly), I couldn't really "bounce," but hey, that's what Daddy is for! 

Daddy got the duty of escorting Abigail through the mazes and obstacles and helping her jump.  She really likes bounce houses, but I think these were so huge that she was a little intimidated at first.  There was one area that had giant blown up animals to ride, and she wanted NOTHING to do with those!  I can't say that I blame her - they were bigger than her and somewhat ferocious looking. 

She liked the slides the best - and when it was time to go in the party room, she liked sitting like a big kid at the table (not a high chair) and eating the cookie cake.  She really had a blast!

Robby was trying to persuade Abby to go in and ride the animals.  She wanted none of it!

She did, however, like jumping with Daddy in the bounce house!

She talked him into going through a ring.  It was hilarious to see Robby try and maneuver through it!

Trying to climb up!

Working their way through the obstacle course.

Going up again - so many things to climb!

At the top of a GIANT slide!  It was about 20 feet high!

Abby loved the slide - Robby, well, not so much.  (Mega-wedgie!)

Here they come over another 6 foot wall!

Playing ball.  She liked to pick up all the balls and put them back in the buckets.

He was having fun!

Hmm. Can you guess which shoes were Robby's?

When Colby opened this present (a RC car that goes 30 mph!), all the boys jumped up and said, "WOAH!" in unison!  It made all the adults laugh!

Happy Birthday, Colby!  Seems like just yesterday we were kissing those chunky baby cheeks!

First Golf Lessons

Yesterday we drove out to Robby's dad's house (Abby's Poppy) to play a round of golf.  Well, Robby and Poppy were going to play, but they invited Abigail and I to join.  Because they knew that it is hot and they invited a pregnant lady and a toddler, they just played 9 holes on a Par 3 course.  We went in the evening, and it only took about an hour or so to play.  That's my kind of golf! 

Robby and his dad rode in one golf cart, and the plan was Abigail and I would ride in the other, but Abigail insisted on sitting with her Daddy and her Poppy.  There were a few holes where she did ride with me, and as soon as they'd take off (we followed), she'd scream, "POPPPPPY!"  She did NOT like them leaving her. 

For the most part, I'd sit with Abigail while they teed off and then we'd drive to their balls (usually on or near the green) and she would get out to "help."  She wasn't really interested in hitting the balls with the clubs, but she did like picking them up and throwing them.  She had her own balls for this purpose.  Poppy gave her a few lessons, like what Daddy was doing with the ball - watch him hit it! - see where it goes?  in that hole - oh, we need to move the flag - can you hold it?  okay, now put it back.  Very, very cute and very, very fun.  The funniest part was when Abigail was on the green and Robby was trying to long putt in the hole; he missed by just a few inches, so Abigail picked up the ball and put it in the hole for him!  Hahaha - too funny!  Daddy's little helper!

After they played, we ate at the club house (delicious!) and played on their playground.  Abigail loved the swings and the big kid slides!

Somewhere in there, is a little red-headed, pig tailed toddler.

Getting some balls

Getting a lesson

Poppy's shadow

Flag girl

Satisfied with a job well done

Loving the swings!  Another mother on the playground said, "I've never heard anyone laugh like that on the swings!  I mean, my kids liked them, but they never laughed like that!"

She loves to swing!  Happy girl! 

(A little chocolate on the chin never hurt anyone!)